Sanitary container



@ch 6, 1933. G. E. WEST SANITARY CONTAINER Filed Aug. 5, 1931 Patented Oct. 6 1931 PATENT oFFicE GEORGE E. WEST, ornALLAs, 'rnxas samrany cozi'ranmn This invention aims to provide a sanitary container, for milk, fruit juices and the like,

capable of being used like an ordinary milk bottle, but adapted to be thrown away, after having been used once.

One object of the invention is to improve the closure at the ends of the container, another object of the invention is to provide a container which can be shipped knocked down, to the user, the user putting the constituent parts of the'device together, and another object of the invention is to provide a simple means whereby the parts of the container may be joined together quickly and securely, by the user as aforesaid.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance the'utility of devices of that type to which the invention appertains.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter describedv and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spiritof the invention.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows in longitudinal section, a device constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmental longitudinal section showing the parts as they will appear before the cap has been mounted in place;

Figure 3 is an elevation showing the parts of the container nested together for shipment;

Figure 4 is a fragmental longitudinal section showing the ends of the base and the top as they will appear before the cement has begun to dry.

In carrying out the invention there is provided a cup-shaped base 1, and an inverted cup-shaped top 2, both of which may be made of paper or the like. Preferably, these parts are constructed of a partially transparent, tasteless film, resembling celluloid in a general way, the special composition used Application filed August 5, 1931. Serial 110,555,356.

being capable of being made the subject matter of a separate application. Let it suffice to say that the composition referred to is a cellulose acetate composition.

The base 1 and the top 2 preferably taper, as shown in Figure 1, but the base 1 has a cylindrical upper end 3, the top 2 having a cylindrical lower end 4, of such diameter as to fit snugly within the end 3 of the top 2, the introduction of the end 3 into the end 4 being limited by engagement with an inwardly-projecting, circumferential stop rib 5 on the top 2.

The device preferably does not leave the manufacturer set up, as shown in Figure 1,

but many bases 1 are nested together, as in Figure 3, thetops 2 being similarly nested. In this shape, the device is shipped to the user, and by shipping the article in the form specified, carriage charges are reduced, and at the same time, the shipper, the consignee, or the carrier, will not have to suffer the loss, due to rough handling, that would necessarily occur if an attempt were made to ship the article completed, as disclosed in Figure 1.

The user receives the parts nested, as shown in Figure 3, and to assemble the base 1 and the top 2, the cheapest sort of unskilled labor may be employed, the work being of such nature that it can be accomplished by a child old enough to work under the labor laws. The top 2, in the position of Figure 1, and the basal, inverted from the position of Figures 1 and 3, are dipped into liquid cement, the end 3 of the base 1, and the end 4 of the top 2 being coated with cement on their inner and outer surfaces, and across their ends, as shown in Figure 1, the cement on the part 3 being marked by the numeral 6, and the cement on the part 4 being marked by the numeral 7 To facilitate an explanation hereinafter set forth, the outer layer of cement on the part 4 has been designated by the numeral 8. The cement is a quick-drying cement, and does not take more than a minute or so to set. Another characteristic of the cement is that it acts as a solvent for the material out of which the base 1 and the top 2 are made, to the extent, at least, of softening the parts 3 and 4 somewhat, but not to the extent of softening them enough to hinder the telescoping of said parts, as shown in Figure 4.

The operator inserts the upper end 3 of the base 1 within the lower end 5 of the top 2, the part 5 acting as a stop for the part 3. Up to this point the members 3 and 4 are parallel, as shown in Figure 4, with the limitation that Figure 4, being diagrammatic, probably shows the cement of exaggerated thickness. Recalling that the cement at 678 is a cement that dries very rapidly, the outer layer of cement shown at 8 dries faster and more promptly than the rest of the cement. This is due to several causes. As to the cement between the parts 3 and 4, the air cannot get to it. The part of the ce ment shown at 6, which is on the inside of the container, is not subject to any drafts of air that may occur in the room where the work is going on, nor is it subject to the drying action that takes place as the operator, having put the parts together, as in Figures 1 and 4, sets the cemented article out of the way, or places it on a moving conveyor. The

cement shown at 8, however, is subject to these and other agencies, which cause it to dry quicker than the balance of the cement, and to buckle the'parts 8 and 4, putting into them the interengaged circumferential depressions shown-at 9, and these depressions are formed without difliculty, because, it will be recalled, the cement has a tendency to soften the parts 3 and 4. The interlocked depressions 9 aid the cement in holding the members of the container together, and the quicksetting cement binds them to each other in a substantially unitary structure.

In the manufacture of the top 2, at the factory, the upper end of the top 2 is folded upon itself to fashion a double-walled, up-

standing rim 10, shown in Figure 2, a part of the inner wall of the rim being rolled toward another part of the said inner wall, as at 11, to define an internal circumferential shoulder 12, on which rests the cap 14, the cap having a slight upward convexity, if desired. The cap 14 is put on by theuser,v

after the container has been filled, and the 'cgpping machine turns over the rim 10 to form a retaining flange 15 for the cap 14. The bottom 16 of the base 1 is fastened in place like the cap 14, but the user receives the base 1 with the bottom 16 in place, the

I mounting of the bottom being a step that is :arried out at the factory. Both of the closures 14 and 16 may be made of the same material as the base 1 and the top 2.

- The complete article is a container for milk, fruit juice and the like, intended to be used once and thrown away, the expense,

. weight, and cost of washing glass receptacles being avoided.

. cement and are softened somewhat thereby, the exposed layer of said cement drying more quickly than the rest of the cement, due to the exposure of said layer, whereby the said end portions are buckled to form interengaged, substantially circumferential depressions therein, which supplement the cement in holding the telescoped end portions together.

2. A container of the class described, embodying a cup-shaped base and a cup-shaped top, having their ends overlapped and thereafterformed into interengaged depressions by contractible cement thereon, both the base and the top being of tapered form, thereby enabling a plurality of tops and bases to be nested, and to enable the user toreceive a plurality of containers knocked down and in a unitary package.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature.

GEORGE E. WEST. 

